Third medical pot shop reported

ARNOLD - A third medical marijuana dispensary has opened in Calaveras County, according to a medical marijuana advocate familiar with the business.

Dana M. Nichols

ARNOLD - A third medical marijuana dispensary has opened in Calaveras County, according to a medical marijuana advocate familiar with the business.

The latest dispensary, Little Trees Wellness Collective, opened on June 5 or 6 in the Oakridge Center on Highway 4 in Arnold, said Thomas Liberty of Collective Patient Resources, a group that assists terminally-ill medical marijuana patients.

Attempts to reach dispensary operator Jeremy Carlson on Monday afternoon were unsuccessful. The business is closed Mondays and Tuesdays, according to its website, and it's storefront at 2641 Highway 4 is a new location.

The dispensary joins the Forgotten Knowledge Collective in Valley Springs and the Blue Mountain Collective in San Andreas as storefront businesses offering medical pot in the county.

Of the three, only Blue Mountain Collective has complied with all county regulations and obtained necessary county permits.

Developer Guy Meyer opened the Forgotten Knowledge dispensary in 2010 without obtaining county permits. The hangup, according to Meyer, was that a commercial building he owns didn't have the specific zoning required by the county. However, Meyer said, he was complying with state guidelines for dispensaries.